Policeman Theory and Contemporary Auditing in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation of Past and Present (Published)
There has been a misconception among certain stakeholders regarding the principal responsibility of auditors concerning financial statements. This misconception revolves around the belief that statutory auditors bear the responsibility for detecting fraud and errors within an organization, aligning with the concept known as the “policeman’s theory.” This research aimed to investigate the impact of the policeman’s theory on contemporary auditing practices in Nigeria. The study employed a combination of primary data collection through structured questionnaires and secondary data from extant literature. Findings revealed that the roles and responsibilities of external auditors have undergone significant evolution over the years, among others. As a result of these findings, it is recommended that statutory auditors should prioritize the implementation of robust quality control measures in their audit engagements.
Keywords: Financial Statements, Fraud, contemporary auditing, policeman theory, statutory auditors
Determinants of Disclosure Completeness of Financial Statements an Empirical Study in Indonesia (Published)
This study aims to determine the effect of firm size, liquidity, and leverage on the completeness of the disclosure of financial statements on mining companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010-2014. The data used in this research is secondary data, such as financial statements. The number of companies who researched many as 18 companies over five years, bringing the total number of samples totaling 90 samples. Data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression analysis using software eviews 8.0. The results of this study showed that simultaneous company size, liquidity, and leverage significant effect on the completeness of the disclosure of financial statements. Partially size and liquidity significantly influence the completeness of the disclosure of financial statements, but leverage does not significantly influence the completeness of the disclosure of financial statements
Keywords: : Company Size, Financial Statements, Leverage, Liquidity
The Effect of Audit Report on Investments and Lending Decisions in Ghana (Published)
The Purpose of this research was to find out whether loan and investment decisions will differ if the loan or investment request was accompanied by audited Financial Statement from loan and investments amount granted when the when the loan and investment request is not accompanied by audited Financial Statement.. An experiment involving 68 loan and investment officers was performed. We manipulated the presence of audited Financial Statement (Audited Vs unaudited Financial Statement.) Our main findings were that the mean loan amount differ when loan application is accompanied by audited accounts from when loan applications are accompanied by unaudited accounts. We also found that investment decisions when accounts are audited differ from investment decisions taken when accounts are not audited. We observed that the mean loan and investment amount was larger when there was an audited Financial Statements
Keywords: Experimental Design, Financial Statements, Investment decisions, Loan decisions
Reliance on Published Financial Statements and Investment Decision Making in the Nigeria Banking Sector (Published)
Financial Reporting Standards and Practices have in the recent past come under great criticisms, demanding that accountants take further steps in ensuring that the true and fair view of the actual worth of business are also incorporated in the financial statements published by them. This was triggered off by an unpresedented line up of corporate failures like that of Enron Corporation, World.com and others coupled with the emergence of the global economic crisis. In Nigeria also, corporate failures and distresses have been witnessed in the banking sector. Evidence was the huge collapse of the Cooperative and Commerce Bank (CCB), Orient Bank of Nigeria, African Continental Bank (ACB) all due to massive accounting related frauds. This problem resulted in the establishment of Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to prevent corporate failures particularly in the Nigeria banking sector by acquiring and financially distress companies. This paper is a critical investigation on the degree of reliance of the published financial statements by corporate investors. The study employed survey research design by which data were generated by means of questionnaire administered on one hundred and fifty corporate investors and senior management officials of the selected banks. The descriptive statistics and percentage analysis were used for the data analysis and the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistic. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 17.0 was employed in the analysis of data and test of hypotheses. The results reveal that one of the primary responsibility of management to the investors is to give a standardized financial statement evaluated and authenticated by a qualified auditor or financial experts (tcal (16.59) > tcritical (2.353). p < 0.05). It also showed investors do understand the financial statement well before investment decision (tcal (17.306) > tcritical (2.353). p < 0.05). The results of the analysis also indicated that investors depend heavily on the credibility of auditors/financial expert approval of financial statement in making investment decisions (tcal (4.592) > tcritical (2.353). p < 0.05) and as such published financial statement is very important in the investors’ decision making (tcal 74.500 > tcritical 6.314; p < 0.05). It hereby recommended that adequate care and due diligence should be maintained in preparing financial statements to avoid faulty investment decisions which could lead to loss of funds and possible litigations
Keywords: Banking Sector, Decision Making, Financial Statements, Investments, Nigeria